Still not convinced the San Jose Earthquakes are for real? That’s OK, because the players are. And for the rest of you, Saturday night’s showdown with Western Conference leader Real Salt Lake will go a long way toward answering any lingering questions.

Since returning to MLS in 2008, the Earthquakes haven’t finished higher than sixth in the West and have been above .500 just once. Chris Wondolowski’s unexpected rise to stardom really was the only reason to pay attention at all.

“A lot of people didn’t believe in the Earthquakes. We did since preseason,” San Jose captain Ramiro Corrales told Sporting News. “It’s motivation that people don’t take us seriously, but we’re also fine with being under the radar. We know what we have in our locker room.

"We know we have a decent team. Now we have to do the little things to be successful, and that’s what we’ve been doing so far.”

That 1-0 win in Seattle at the end of March, last weekend’s 2-2 draw at Red Bull Arena that featured a pair of one-goal deficits and a second-half performance that New York star Thierry Henry said was a “lesson in football” for his club—those are results the 'Quakes wouldn’t have managed in seasons past.

Now the 2012 MLS season’s early surprise package is 4-1-1 and in second place, just two points behind RSL (5-2-0) with a game in hand. Confidence is growing in San Jose, and that makes Saturday night’s challenge something “we’re looking forward to” rather than something to fear, Corrales said.

“Obviously, Salt Lake is one of the better teams in the league, and they’ve proven that,” Corrales said. “They move the ball well and have good players. They’re a handful. We just have to do what we’ve been doing—be tough to break down, stay organized and defend well. We don’t have to adjust our game for them. That’s our mood over here.”

The Earthquakes have yielded just four goals in six games thanks in large part to a solid and consistent back four featuring Corrales on the left, up-and-comer Steven Beitashour at right back and Honduran World Cup veteran Víctor Bernárdez in the middle.

There’s been far more flux further up the field, but the Earthquakes' ability to deal with injuries, absences and changes in formation and tactics has proven to be the most significant difference between this year’s squad and its predecessors.

“The depth that this team has this year has been big,” said Corrales, a 35-year-old native of Salinas, Calif. "Talk about Jason (Hernandez) and Simon (Dawkins), they came in against New York and did a good job, and before in past years we didn’t have that. We’d have one or two injuries and we couldn’t go to our bench as much as we’ve done this year.

“Alan (Gordon) came in and last home game (vs. Vancouver) he scored. Then he gets injured and we have Khari (Stephenson) up there last weekend. The depth of the team is that the guys on our bench like Simon and Jason, they’re quality players and they stepped in and that’s been different this year. We’re very confident in each other and believe in each other and are proving it every week.”

They’ll have to do it again on Saturday at Buck Shaw Stadium.

Left midfielder Shea Salinas is out 6-8 weeks with a broken collarbone, and influential right midfielder Marvin Chávez is suspended. Meanwhile, RSL is expected to welcome back playmaker Javier Morales (hamstring) and will be motivated following last weekend’s defeat at Sporting Kansas City.

“We’ve been saying we have a good team, but you have to go out and prove it every week,” Corrales said. “We’re at home and we want to take first place from them. It’s going to be a hard game. It’s going to be exciting.”

Pursuing perfection

At 7-0-0, Sporting KC is in rarified company. Only one other team in MLS history has earned 21 points through its first seven matches—the 1996 L.A. Galaxy. Cobi Jones, Jorge Campos & Co. won an eighth straight before being forced to a shootout in game No. 9.

The win streak eventually reached 12, but L.A.’s inaugural season concluded without a trophy. Kansas City’s start has been impressive, but there’s a long way to go.

Sporting Kansas City will play its third game in eight days Saturday when it visits a desperate 1-4-1 Portland Timbers team that has lost four straight.

“When things don’t go well in this sport, everyone wants to paint it as a lot worse than it is,” Timbers owner Merritt Paulson told reporters this week. “That’s the nature of sports. The media and fans want to do that. And when things are going well, they often think you’re better than you are too.

"This is a sport that’s as personified by cycles as any sport I’ve seen, and I’ve been a fan of a lot of sports.”

Is SKC’s momentum destined to change, or is the team just that good? Despite Portland’s struggles, winning at Jeld-Wen Field isn’t easy. SKC will see its streak tested Saturday night.

Atlantic Cup

One of MLS’ enduring rivalries renews Sunday when D.C. United (2-2-3) hosts the New York Red Bulls (3-2-1) in a game rich with subplots (6 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

The visitors will be without the suspended Rafa Márquez and the injured Teemu Tainio and Roy Miller. However, they’ll have plenty of spark thanks to forward Thierry Henry (seven goals) and Kenny Cooper (seven goals), who together have scored more goals than every other team in the league. D.C.’s back line was tested Wednesday night in a 1-1 draw with Montreal and will have its hands full with New York’s dynamic duo.

Meanwhile, United continues to rely on journeyman forward Maicon Santos and rookie Nick DeLeon for too much of its offense. Designated Player Hamdi Salihi, the highly regarded Albanian striker, has been a disaster. Meanwhile, 2011 league MVP Dwayne De Rosario has yet to score a goal. Sunday’s match vs. the team that traded him last year would be a great time for the Canadian star to get his first. Considering the offensive power they’re up against, United will need it.

El Clásico

The eyes of the sporting world will turn toward Barcelona on Saturday when the reigning Spanish, European and world champions host Real Madrid in the latest installment of the planet’s most high-profile rivalry (2 p.m. ET, Gol TV).

Madrid (27-2-4) leads Barcelona (25-2-6) by four points with five games left in the La Liga season. Equally as compelling is the scoring race between Lionel Messi (41 league goals, 63 in all competitions) and Cristiano Ronaldo (41 in La Liga, 53 in all competitions), soccer’s top two players.

It will be the sixth meeting between the eternal antagonists this season, with a climactic seventh still possible. Should both teams reverse one-goal deficits in the UEFA Champions League semifinals, they’ll meet May 19 in Munich for the continental title.

This weekend’s biggest game involving an American player arguably is in Belgium, where Sacha Kljestan’s Anderlecht leads Club Brugge by one point atop the Pro League standings with six games to go. They meet Sunday afternoon in Brugge. Now in his second season in Brussels, Kljestan has five goals in 2011-12.